Gov’t ratifies anti-terror law for country stability – official

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The ratification of the Anti-Terrorism Law by the Iraqi Council of Ministers on Tuesday has stemmed from the government’s keenness for the sovereignty of the law and the stability of the security in the country, the Official Spokesman of the Government, Ali al-Dabbagh said in a statement on Wednesday. “The Council of Ministers has decided in its ordinary session on Tuesday to pass the Law on Fighting Terrorism, checked by the State’s Shoura (Consultative) Council and passed to the Iraqi Parliament,” Dabbagh said in his statement, received by IraqiNews.com news agency. Dabbagh pointed out that the Council of Minister’s approval of the draft of the said law, “had stemmed from the Iraqi government’s keenness for the sovereignty of the law, the stability of security in the country, along with putting an end to acts of terrorism; addressing dangers caused by the corruption of the economic and social infrastructure, which in turn harms the public and private funds, the protection of the rights of citizens in life and properties, as well as the unification of punishment laws, related to such crimes and expanding their impact to achieve the necessary acts.” “The Committee, formed according to the Presidential Order No.97 of 2008, had laid a new draft-law for fighting terrorism,in implementation to the UN Security Council’s Resolution No.1,373 of 2001,” he said. “The draft-law describes crimes of terrorism as any action or refusal to carry out any action, or an attempt to achieve any result aimed at causing terror among people, frightening them, or causing danger to their lives, honor or security, or causing harm to the environment or any public or private property, or exposing any of the natural or public health resources to danger, with the motive of undermining the public order, threatening stability, regional safety, national unity or the State’s sovereignty or threatening the ruling power,” he added. As for the “terrorist organization,” the law has described it as “any group, society or commission, comprised of 3 or more persons, aiming to commit one or more than one terrorist crime, and the terrorist, being the person, who committed or tried to commit a terrorist crime, intentionally, through any direct or indirect means, or having shared in committing it or pushing an illegal responsible person to commit it or having enrolled in a terrorist organization. SKH (TR)/SR 1372